“With organized scalpers working overtime to keep the red-hot iPhone 4S in stock, Apple has adopted new retail policies to regulate orders and delivery of the product in Hong Kong and on the mainland marke,” Wang Huazhong and Li Tao report for China Daily.

“The policies, adopted on Tuesday in Hong Kong and Wednesday in Beijing, follow Apple’s nearly three-week block on iPhone 4S sales at mainland stores, and amid media reports that some of the company’s suppliers operate sweatshops,” Huazhong and Tao report. “Apple reopened its online ordering service for the iPhone 4S on the Chinese mainland on Wednesday, but customers are given no specific delivery date. Instead, they are told that they will receive their orders of up to two phones in ‘February.'”

Huazhong and Tao report, “Apple suspended all means of direct sales of the iPhone 4S on the mainland immediately at the launch of the product on Jan 13, after scalpers fought one another for position at the front of lines of prospective buyers. In tandem with the resumption of mainland sales online, the company adopted a lottery reserving system for the phones in Hong Kong.”

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8 Comments

These are signs of the poor education a society has to offer. More educated countries enjoy an Apple product launch in peace. These undereducated people prefer to rip off others’ positions in line as well as others IP and ideas instead of making a true effort to deserve success.

The scalpers would be paid far more than the cost of buying the phone from Apple. In a pure capitalist sense it makes sense that they’d fight each other to get one–people they sell to value their time enough that they’ll pay someone else to stand in line for them.

Black Friday shoppers, on the other hand, line up for hours, then fought, trampled, and in a couple cases pepper-sprayed or fired guns at each other. Almost all are buying for themselves (i.e. not reselling for higher), and add to their credit card debt.

Which society has the poorer education, again? Seems one can’t do basic math.

Sure Modima65, citizens from educated societies do not trample people in a Walmart stampede or use pepper spray to get a low-priced game console.

There is plenty of crime in the U.S. and far too many people incarcerated for us to truly claim that we are civilized. Rather, recent events indicate to me that our society is actually just coated in a thin and fraying veneer of civilization over a seething mass of self-interested anarchy.

Yes, this situation is entirely ridiculous. Apple: Get the HELL out of China. Leave them to their mass insanity. Maybe the Chinese citizens will get the clue to overthrow their evil overlords and kick communism back into the sewer it came from. :?

C’Mon guys China is an emerging socialist society embracing capitalistic ways. Would you rather have it the way it was in the 60’s under Mao with no leeway, no goods and just simply a threat? Given time China will become far greater and better behaved than what it is today, which really ain’t too shabby. Personally I am thrilled the reception for Apple in China already shows many over there know the difference between device manufacturers and want the good stuff.